The broad aim of the paper will be to report on two recent research initiatives; first an examination of the information requirements of commercial property advisors and analysts and second an assessment of current property information sources.
A mismatch between the supply and demand of property information will be highlighted and some thoughts on future prospects for wider data access and dissemination will be provided.
Professional advisors require access to accurate and timely information on which to base advice. If the quality of that information is poor or is not available in a sufficient quantity then the advice that the client receives will suffer and the advisor's liability increases.
Many property market commentators have highlighted the inadequacy of information to support property advice, a recent example of which can be found in the Mallinson Report (RICS 1994).
Private sector initiatives have been successful in meeting some of the demand for property information by providing market indices and data compiled from other sources, yet access to disaggregated market details remains elusive.
In 1993 the Department of the Environment considered outlawing confidentiality clauses in conveyancing contracts in an attempt to force more property information into the public domain.
It was felt that such a measure would fail partly because important transaction details may be hidden in associated agreements (IPD 1993).
There have also been calls for property information collected and maintained by the Valuation Office to be released into the public domain (Chorley 1987, IPD 1993).
However, no action has been taken so far. The Society of Property Researchers recently established a working party to examine the information requirements of commercial property advisors and analysts.
The paper draws upon the results of a survey and data set evaluation undertaken by that working party.
The paper considers how improved access to comprehensive evaluation may affect commercial property market analysis techniques.
The property market in England and Wales, when compared with similar markets abroad and alternative domestic investment markets, has remained disadvantaged with regard to information access.
Consequently the professions have established a comprehensive yet informal method of information exchange.
This paper seeks to provide an insight into possible information issues that may arise as a result of improved data exchange.
